Re: Fearfully Great, not Terrible!!

[pharrinj@PLU.edu]

On Mon, 15 Jan 1996, th81 wrote:

> Actually, for those who bother to read Owen 1842 (a reference often cited
> but rarely read, as they say :-) ), Sir Richard does NOT use "deinos" to
> mean "terrible".  He specifically says "deinos" means "fearfully great" (or,
> in today's speech, "fearfully big"), and goes to to say they are named such
> since they "far surpass in size all living reptiles".
> 

Well, I HOPE nobody interpreted "terrible lizard" as being a comment on 
the dinosaurs' inherent worth or goodness.  :-)

> Nitpickingly yours,
> 
> Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
> Vertebrate Paleontologist
> Dept. of Geology
> University of Maryland
> College Park, MD  20742
> Email:Thomas_R_HOLTZ@umail.umd.edu (th81)
> Fax: 301-314-9661
> Phone:301-405-4084
> 

    Nick